Download shaping evolutionary history

ANALYSIS
SHAPING EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY
Evolutionary biology, the study of the origin and evolution of life on Earth, became recognised
as a scientific field following the realisation that Mendelian genetics could explain the
processes and causes of evolution and biodiversity, determine species relationships and
document evolutionary history. Here, International Innovation presents a selection of
influential biologists who are highly recognised for their contributions to this exciting discipline
Charles Darwin
Gregor Mendel
Theodosius Dobzhansky
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Sadly, as it was only published in
German, and carried out in the garden of
a monastery, Mendel’s work was not fully
recognised until more than 30 years after
his death.
Dobzhansky’s work also led to the
establishment of evolutionary genetics as
an independent discipline.
(1809-82)
t a time when most Europeans
believed that God created the
world in seven days, Darwin set out
on a five-year scientific voyage, during
which he made observations that laid the
foundations for evolutionary theory.
The first to propose natural selection as
a mechanism of evolution, Darwin and
his colleague, Alfred Russel Wallace,
officially announced the concept in
1858. Although greatly contested at the
time, this revolutionary theory is now the
general consensus.
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INTERNATIONAL INNOVATION
(1822-84)
onsidered the founder of modern
genetics, Mendel conducted
studies on pea plants that have become
synonymous with the scientist for
shedding light on the mechanisms of
heredity. Coining the terms ‘dominant’
and ‘recessive’, he was the first to
demonstrate the predictable influence of
genetics on visible traits.
(1900-75)
eneticist Dobzhansky’s
investigations into how genes
result in variation between populations
of the same species were pivotal to the
field of evolutionary biology. His theories
combined the concepts of Darwinian
evolution and Mendelian genetics into
principles of speciation; and he published
the first synthesis of these works in 1937.
ANALYSIS
Ernst Mayr
Rosemary and Peter Grant
Eric Pianka
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Mayr was an advocate of the argument
that evolutionary pressures act on an
organism as a whole, rather than on
single genes.
Years of observation enabled the
researchers to document evidence of
natural selection in action – recording
environmental change and showing how
particular individuals within the population
favoured these changes, thereby driving
the evolution of certain characteristics.
An inventor of many new techniques
and concepts, several of Pianka’s
publications have been overwhelmingly
influential to the field of evolutionary
ecology and cited thousands of times.
Niles Eldredge
Sarah Blaffer Hrdy
Nancy Moran
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(1904-2005)
ascinated with the origin of species,
Mayr proposed a mechanism for
how multiple species could evolve from
a single common ancestor (known
as the biological species concept).
Although not the only one of its kind,
this theory is widely accepted as
an explanation for how barriers to
reproduction influence the evolutionary
origins of species.
(1943-present)
longside Stephen Jay Gould (19412002), Eldredge posited the theory
of punctuated equilibrium – now a widely
recognised model of evolutionary change
that put flesh to Darwin’s observation
that the fossil record lacked evidence of
the steady, gradual evolution of species
with time.
While Darwin concluded that this was
due to the record’s incomplete state,
he could not explain why. Gould and
Eldredge suggested that organisms
undergo rapid bursts of change that result
in new species and, based on probability,
concluded that this kind of speciation is
unlikely to leave fossilised traces.
(1936-present)
he Grants’ cutting-edge research on
Darwin’s finches in the Galapagos
Islands has revealed new insights into
species evolution, demonstrating that
severe environmental changes result in
rapid evolutionary changes in beak size
and shape.
(1946-present)
laffer Hrdy’s radical influence on
evolutionary biology is largely based
around theories of female strategies and
evolutionary influences on infants.
Although widely accepted today, many
of her conclusions have forced scientists
to rethink commonly recognised
interpretations of evolutionary theory; for
example, the ‘good mother’ archetype.
(1939-present)
ianka’s research is broadly based
on lizards as model organisms,
which exhibit a wide range of ecological
phenomena. One of the best-known
evolutionary ecologists today, he has
proposed theories on (but not limited to)
foraging strategies, reproductive tactics,
competition, species diversity and
species rarity.
(1957-present)
oran received the International
Prize for Biology from the Japan
Society for the Promotion of Science in
2010 for her groundbreaking work on the
co-evolutionary symbiotic relationships
between insects and bacteria.
Her work has vastly enhanced
understanding of the evolution of
biological complexity and she is
highly praised for her consistently
multidisciplinary approach.
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